Easter

Easter morning dawned bright and beautiful but the main attraction for the boys wasn’t the weather…

A cadbury’s cream egg for breakfast is  tough to beat  and highly traditional in our British household!  The boys enjoyed a good dollop of choccy in the morning and then we spent the majority of the day outside.  And what a beautiful day it was.

We couldn’t have ordered nicer weather, it was fresh and spring like, perfect for our snow exhausted souls.  The sun shone, the grass greened and the children frolicked.  Stephen and I worked on the farm all day, he worked on animal enclosures and landscaping, I chopped up trees and made a start on clearing our fence line.  I was amazed at how well the boys played as we worked, in fact Huwyl was a massive help, hauling out logs and old trees bigger than himself.

Needless to say after a day in the sun and fresh air both boys were spark out at bedtime and slept deeply for 12 hours.  As Stephen and I enjoyed the sunset outside while we put the animals to bed, a flock of Canada geese flew overhead.  They were so low I felt I could reach my hand up and brush them with my fingers.  The sounds of their wings beating were loud in the air around us as we gazed up at them, spellbound.  The sound was the same as brushing your finger along a feather, that soft crisp noise resounded as they swept gracefully by.

All I could think to say was “Well I’ve never seen that before.”  So many first already experienced here and so many more to come.  So much to look forward to.  So much to celebrate.

Out for a walk

If you took a walk through our fields you would see any number of signs of spring.  Nettles sprouting, leaves budding, geese flying overhead.  There’s no getting away from it, spring has sprung!

As well as the glories of spring unfurling herself, you might also run into some seriously suspicious characters up to what appears to be no good at all.  What are they doing, you might wonder.  Ritual magic? Lord of the Rings recreations?  Ninja Camp?

All I know is eye contact is best avoided lest you fall under their influence.  They are cunning, ruthless and masters of disguise…

Proceed at your own risk.

Sights of Sunday

Apparently April has something of a sense of humour, so after an equinox at 29C we are starting the month of showers with…snow.  Yep.  Rain, wind and snow, oh and it’s cold.  Not a day to be outside in.

See, no one wants to go out.  So today is about warmth and comfort; a favourite dinner, a warm fire.

All the comforts of home.

Thursday Morning

Like most homeschooling mums I often worry that we are not doing ‘enough’.  Our work can come in fits and starts, often at odd times of the day, and certainly doesn’t fit anything that would be recognisable in a school room setting.  Is it possible that we are really achieving?

To add to the worry I’ve decided to pull Neirin out of preschool for a month.  There is nothing wrong with the school or the programme, they are lovely and run a really great programme, but it is a co-operative and so requires a lot of parent support and time.  To put it simply I just don’t have the extra energy right now.  Though it may seem counter intuitive (isn’t it easier without the little one running around causing havoc?) I’m finding right now that getting us to and from preschool, as well as the additional duty days, fund raising activities and extra bits and pieces is a bit too exhausting.

So for the month of April I have two boys in my school room, two different needs to meet.  Whereas Huwyl welcomes quiet reading and long stories, Neirin is in the doing phase, active and, well, a bit pesky.  It will be a challenge to keep all the balls juggling but for right now it feels like what we all need.  Less driving, less in and out of the house and, hopefully, a bit less mummy exhaustion.

But can I give Huwyl enough?  That nagging doubt lingers.  But then I look at some of the photos I’ve snapped of our morning, of all that we’ve fit in between breakfast and lunch and I am reassured.  History, music, art and art history, handwriting, phonics, all of these have been touched upon at some point.  Some for longer than others, but all have been included.

Our day has certainly been different with Neirin in the mix, he is a force of nature not to be ignored!  I’ve been realistic about when we can include him and when we can’t and I think I’ll be orienting our morning more towards activities that can include everyone, leaving our reading for bedtime which Huwyl actually loves.  The one thing I wasn’t willing to compromise on was the All About Spelling lesson, so Neirin had some Starfall and a bit of tv while I worked with Huwyl.  That in itself creates challenges but we are working on it, I’m confident we’ll find our way.

I’m viewing this month as something of a trial run, seeing how it can work with Neirin very fully in the mix.  Can we give Huwyl the 1-1 he needs with a demanding little brother?  Is Neirin going to end up bored and frustrated with my attempts at giving him some ‘preschool’ work to do?  Only time will tell.  I’ve committed to the year with the preschool so he’ll return for May and June; we have family support then so it will be less difficult and hopefully more fun for him too.  But whether he’ll return in September is still up for debate, we’ll see how our time goes over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, he’s definitely livening things up around here,

My own little kitty cat boy.

Simple Science

Who says science has to be complicated?  Not I.  Our science lesson this afternoon consisted of one tray of baking soda, two small cups of white vinegar and two pipettes.

The original idea came from here, I found it on Pinterest (of course).  I didn’t have food colouring as the original idea suggests but I think it would be fun for next time.  This experiment was perfect for a sickly Mummy and two bouncy boys on a cool spring day.  I’ve been ill for the last week and so I’m trying to take life very, very slowly at the moment, looking for ways to simplify and be a bit gentler on us all.

I was surprised by how this little experiment fascinated the boys, they played with it for about half an hour, and of course there was no worry about tipping it straight down the sink!  It is a salient reminder to me that life doesn’t have to be that complicated, when it comes to children particularly, it is the atmosphere that counts.  So I’m remembering that, reminding myself as I think about wellness and creating a peaceful atmosphere at home.

What the boys want and need is simply time.  They don’t really care that much about what but more about with whom.  They’d rather a tray of baking soda and vinegar and some marble run construction with a happy mummy, than a million ‘outside’ activities.  And of course it all returns back to me taking the time to look after myself, to create pockets of time for rest, to minimise driving and rushing and all those transitions that cause stress.  To be at home with them, reading, making, being together; drifting a little and taking time to just look around.

Simple.

Pastel Shades

Yesterday I opened up the oil and soft pastels for the boys to have a bit of an experiment with, they loved the deep colours and textures and we spent a happy hour playing as the afternoon sunshine spilled over us.  Huwyl asked me how oil pastels are made, when I told him I don’t know he said “I don’t know either, that’s what makes it so interesting!”

I just love the way his mind works.

Good Neighbours

Since we bought this land we’ve often commented on how lucky we are to have such nice neighbours.  Perhaps it is because we live in the country now, perhaps it is because they were all really pleased to see us clearing up this long neglected place, or perhaps (as my Dad asserts) we are just really lucky.  I actually think it is the latter.

On Saturday we had the chance to meet our down-the-road-a-bit neighbours who have farmed there for over 30 years.  They showed us around their lovely place and let us all meet their guard llama and their beautiful flock of sheep, including all of the new lambs who met us warily and were guarded over by protective mamas.

After admiring our neighbour’s farm we were invited in to warm up with hot drinks by the fire.  We chatted like old friends until it was time to drag ourselves away, our arms full of honey and eggs, kindly gifted by our new friends.   I was struck by the generosity we have encountered from all our neighbours, digging us out when our tractor was stuck, inviting us round for a fabulous home cooked meal, donating water before our well was on, offers of help haying, post hole digging…the list goes on.

I hope one day to be able to repay our little community for their kind welcome (something in a bbq I’m thinking might go down well) but in the mean time I bask in the feeling of belonging that increases with each passing week.

And for anyone who can’t quite get enough of the sheepy baa lamb love (let’s face it, that’s all of us),

One day we’ll have some of these little guys in our own fields,  but for now I’ll settle for visiting with friends.

A Single Moment

Spring is here,

It’s official.

Treats

Ostara is the perfect excuse for this,

March has brought us incredible weather, but also quite a lot of sickness, so this little cooking session was all we could manage for Ostara this year.  Didn’t hear any complaints from my family though.  Hoping everyone enjoyed the arrival of spring this year, for the first time since I moved to Canada there is no snow, instead we had temperatures of 28C!

Evening Walk

The ‘summer’ weather we’ve been experiencing this week has been simply stunning.  The sunshine, the warmth, that uplifted feeling you get when the days seem to last forever and the possibilities are endless.  Last night Stephen came home early (6pm!) which meant time for a family dinner and an evening walk.  Despite the soggy ground (apparently it is actually still spring!) it was sheer bliss.

The sheer luxury of walking our own land, free as you like, will never wear off.  The beauty of the earth, even with soggy puddles and crazy mucky boys/dogs/chickens running around, lifts my spirit and gives me a feeling of life and of belonging.  As much as this place belongs to us, so we belong to it; the magic of that relationship will take many years to understand.

There is something else I never tire of,

That sky, all 95 acres of it.